I said it before and I will say it again. I am reserving any judgement of Ujiri until just after the trade deadline this year. I think by then we will have all the information we need to see where we are going.

That's good! Well,,,,,,,,,,, kinda,,,,,,,um,,, maybe. Not knowing what kind of time frames Ujiri has in mind, for making decisions he doesn't know he's making yet, I'd like to suggest that defining such a hardass deadline for yourself like that may not be good for your health,,,,,,,,,,,,, but, I know, you'll say it again,,,, trade deadline, come hell or high Ujiri!

I fully believe, if JV and Ross progress into contributing pieces ( JV a 15pt, 8-9 reb., solid defender, Ross a consistent outside threat, that can defend), that we are one good player away from being a contender. I like what Masai did with the Nuggets through trades and using his assets. With the Bargnani trade we were able to gain assets (expiring contracts, and draft picks), but I think now is the time for this team. If we have the ability to keep our core (JV, ROSS, DeMar, GAY), and add a player like LaMarcus Aldridge, we would be a contender.

I really don't think we will be in the Wiggins sweepsteaks and we will probably be closer to 13-17. We are in that in between stage where we have to make a move, trading for a proven player is a sure thing. I hope Masai goes this direction.

I had a chance to watch a bit of Masai's media scrum. There is definitely the vibe that he doesn't like the karma of tanking but you also get a sense that he sees the logic in winding up there while following the more noble plan of "evaluating you team". I'm surprised nobody had jumped on the emphasis Masai has put on the next "4-5 days". In more than a couple of ways, he alluded to this period suggesting that trading would be active and we might have a better idea of where the raptors are going after that. I think he just wants to collect as many young assets as you can and move on. How can he possibly trade for someone that is better than one on our roster? We have no cap room to absorb anything. No one is going to give us a better player for any of ours straight up or even for a combination of ours. I think this means shipping out some talent for some future talent. Not tanking..just building. There is no way they think we are competing for a championship anytime soon so there is no reason to hang on to pieces that don't fit the "two year plan". Lowry and Gay will likely both be gone by then...why not ship them out now? Check out the feed if there is one. He was vague a lot as usual but he seemed to be talking concretely about the next 4-5 days. Then again...this is how we all got so excited for the blow up on draft night. I won't hold my breath.

Last addendum for the night...I think the "two year plan" speaks to a window where the city/fans will tolerate losing before they expect to see the upside again..... not playoffs in two years. That's diggin'

I fully believe, if JV and Ross progress into contributing pieces ( JV a 15pt, 8-9 reb., solid defender, Ross a consistent outside threat, that can defend), that we are one good player away from being a contender. I like what Masai did with the Nuggets through trades and using his assets. With the Bargnani trade we were able to gain assets (expiring contracts, and draft picks), but I think now is the time for this team. If we have the ability to keep our core (JV, ROSS, DeMar, GAY), and add a player like LaMarcus Aldridge, we would be a contender.

I really don't think we will be in the Wiggins sweepsteaks and we will probably be closer to 13-17. We are in that in between stage where we have to make a move, trading for a proven player is a sure thing. I hope Masai goes this direction.

And who exactly are we going to trade (without losing anyone in our so called "core") to get this proven player?

The lineup isn't even close to being a contender. We didn't even beat the heat ONCE last season. I highly doubt there's huge leaps and bounds in talent next season.

And who exactly are we going to trade (without losing anyone in our so called "core") to get this proven player?

The lineup isn't even close to being a contender. We didn't even beat the heat ONCE last season. I highly doubt there's huge leaps and bounds in talent next season.

We can find that extra talent with our draft picks even 2nd round picks can produce Rondo, Ginobli, etc. And we can always pick up a bad contract like Boozer, for expiring contracts when we decide to go all in. Also Demar is still around and might increase his trade value by next season

We can find that extra talent with our draft picks even 2nd round picks can produce Rondo, Ginobli, etc. And we can always pick up a bad contract like Boozer, for expiring contracts when we decide to go all in. Also Demar is still around and might increase his trade value by next season

2nd round picks actually producing competent players are very few and far between. That's hardly a very realistic option to turn this team around.

Picking up more bad contracts? I'm not sure if that is worse than the first thing you said.

Demar increasing his trade value usually means he's playing better. Why would we want to trade him then?

Last addendum for the night...I think the "two year plan" speaks to a window where the city/fans will tolerate losing before they expect to see the upside again..... not playoffs in two years. That's diggin'

iblastoff wrote:

And who exactly are we going to trade (without losing anyone in our so called "core") to get this proven player?

The lineup isn't even close to being a contender. We didn't even beat the heat ONCE last season. I highly doubt there's huge leaps and bounds in talent next season.

"We only have one rule on this team. What is that rule? E.L.E. That's right's, E.L.E, and what does E.L.E. stand for? EVERYBODY LOVE EVERYBODY. Right there up on the wall, because this isn't just a basketball team, this is a lifestyle. ~ Jackie Moon

And who exactly are we going to trade (without losing anyone in our so called "core") to get this proven player?

The lineup isn't even close to being a contender. We didn't even beat the heat ONCE last season. I highly doubt there's huge leaps and bounds in talent next season.

We have Draft picks, Amir, and expiring deals. I'm not against trading away 1st rounders for the right player. He has to be young, decent contract and a proven player. IMO we are close. We battled injuries, and youth last season. There's no doubt in my mind our present lineup plus another all-star, or borderline allstar PF wouldn't be in the top end of the East and possibly a championship team in the next 2-3 years. Miami could be dismantled after next season, Brooklyn is old, the Knicks...are the Knicks... now is the time.

There is truth to the theory that "time breeds chemistry". It's very possible that an extra summer and training camp together could yield some positive results that didn't materialize last year.

Now I'm not confusing this team with a top-4 seed, but the Raptors could be an entertaining bunch, which (in theory) raises the value of most of our roster, and maintains the option for Ujiri to make franchise-altering moves when the chance presents itself.